


Fevered Heat

by Annibal



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 23:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annibal/pseuds/Annibal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal takes Will home and takes care of his fever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fevered Heat

**Author's Note:**

> Fourth of 12 days.

Will was close, he could feel it. The pain in his skin and the ache in his lungs as he coughed again was nothing compared how it felt to know that he was so close and yet the last part just wasn’t clicking into place. The Ripper had climbed under his skin and was living in him now. Will knew that if he could hold out just a little longer he could find him, maybe even before he killed again. He would take care of himself when this was over, when he knew resting wouldn’t put someone in danger.

The body didn’t tell him much more than the last one, there was nothing that spoke to him about brutalised corpse. It may have been the sickness, stopping him from thinking and connecting like he normally could. He just hoped that the identification would tell him more.

“What do you see Will?”

It was frustrating not being able to tell Jack anything new. It made him want to ask Jack to tell him what he saw, because there was nothing there for him. 

“Nothing new.”

Will turned his back to the corpse as he took off his toque. He could feel the sweat on his head despite the fact that his ears ached from the cold. 

“I am going to see if doctor Lecter can tell us anything about the missing organs.”

The area was less than half an hour drive from Hannibal’s house. He hoped that it would be worth having him drive out.

“Yeah sure. I am just going to sit down in my car and think about the case in silence until he gets here.”

Will felt guilt that he was using the wait to give himself an excuse to rest, but not guilty enough to slow down on his way to his car.

*

Will jerked awake at the gentle knock on his door, and he looked up to see Hannibal’s concerned face looking down at him.

He had passed out in his car, except he didn’t feel better, he felt so much worse. Will could tell without checking that his fever was worse, the soreness in his skin and the bubbling in his stomach was telling enough. 

Will didn’t say hello; he just opened the door and stepped into the cold air. He swayed on his feet and leaned on the car to cover it.

“Were you able to tell Jack anything new?”

“Nothing that you had not already seen.”

Hannibal kept watching him until his discomfort got high enough that Will opened his mouth to speak. Before he could get out a word though Hannibal cut him off.

“You do not look well Will, what is your temperature?”

“I haven’t checked.”

He didn’t even mind the invasion of his personal space as Hannibal pushed back his hair and held a cool hand on his forehead. It felt so good to have the cool flesh against his own heat.

“You’re very hot. Why didn’t you go home?”

“I’m getting close, there is only one more before he finishes the set. I can’t stop now.”

“Collapsing isn’t going to help the case any. At least come back to my office, I have a small kit there.”

Will looked over the snow and nodded, he wasn’t any help right now and an hour off wouldn’t kill anything. 

*

He hardly remembered the office; Hannibal had taken his temperature and then told him he should go to the hospital. There was no way that he could be spared for long though, so he turned him down. The details were fuzzy in his mind, but he remembered Hannibal insisting that he at least go home. He had slept through most of the drive, and only when he had climbed into his bed had Hannibal seemed satisfied. Will would have argued more if he didn’t feel so terrible.

It didn’t take Will long to fall asleep when Hannibal was rubbing his forehead down with cold water, and talking to him about the case. 

He had been awake for a while now, but the sore heat of his skin was too uncomfortable to stay lying down for long. Although he was feeling better than he had been that morning he wasn’t sure it was much of an improvement. A few aspirin would help take the ache down, and maybe lower the fever a little more.

The noise from the kitchen let him know Hannibal hadn’t left yet, so he slipped his robe on before making his way to the kitchen. Will crept to the door, peaking forward to watch without interrupting. Staying in the doorframe also allowed him to lean, his legs feeling weak from the short walk.

Hannibal had obviously been shopping, an empty brown paper bag sat on the counter and the smell of ginger and garlic he didn’t own filled the air. Hannibal’s jacket and vest were folded over a chair and his dress shirt sleeves were rolled up around his elbows to keep from getting dirty. It looked like he had even found Will’s corny ‘kiss the cook’ grilling apron and had folded it over so that it sat like a waist apron. If he hadn’t felt so terrible the sight would have made him laugh. As it was, it pulled a smile to his lips.

“You don’t need to watch from the door.”

Hannibal spoke without looking up from the pot he was stirring consistently. 

“I just need to get at the aspirin; it should be in the cupboard to your right.”

Hannibal set down the spoon and wiped his hands on a towel before opening the cupboard. It wasn’t hard to find the bottle and Will stepped closer to take it from him. 

“Should I even ask what you are making?”

“Just a simple vegetable soup Will. It has garlic for your fever, and ginger and lomatium for you cough.” 

His stomach has settled, but the thoughts of eating weren’t dancing in his mind.

“I’m not that hungry to be honest.”

Hannibal gave him a warm smile as he pressed the bottle into his fingers.

“It also has angelica root to help with your appetite.”

Will smiled down at the bottle as he took one out. It was touching that Hannibal was willing to stay and take care of him. He had never really had a friend look out for him like this. He hadn’t really had a close friend since he could remember.

“I should be fine now. I can take over if you want to go home.”

“Nonsense Will, it’s almost finished and you are still looking pale. I would like to take your temperature again before you eat.”

“I don’t want to waste your time.”

“You should know your friendship is never a waste of time. I am always willing to help you when you are in need.” 

He took two aspirin and dry swallowed them before setting the bottle down on the counter. Will leaned on the counter and watched Hannibal serve two bowls of soup. 

“Sit down at the dining table, once we have your temperature the soup should be cool enough to eat.”

Will had eaten Hannibal’s cooking enough that he decided to obey, besides he knew he should go into Quantico, see if anyone else found something to add to the case. At least he could have a good meal before he left. 

He brought both bowls to his table, sitting down and waiting for Hannibal to return. It was a while before he came back with a black case. Hannibal sat it on the table and opened it up. There was the same digital thermometer that Hannibal had used earlier and Will opened his mouth without having to be told. The cool metal felt good in his mouth, and when it beeped he allowed Hannibal to yank it back out.

There was a slight crease in Hannibal’s brow before he spoke.

“103.5 Will, it has gone up. How long have you had this fever?”

Hannibal put the thermometer away and got back up walking to the kitchen and bringing back eating utensils. He laid one down beside the bowl pointedly, as if to tell Will to wait until it cooled more.

“I am not sure, maybe three days.”

“You should go to the hospital, or at least take a few days of rest.”

“What I should do is help with the case.”

Hannibal leaned closer to him and Will kept his eyes on his nose, not giving in and looking in his eyes.

“Then I hope you will forgive me. I already called Jack and told him you would not be in for a few days. As a doctor I am afraid that I insisted.”

“The Ripper-”

“The Ripper will wait until you are better.”

“If someone else dies and I could have done something.”

Will paused, he knew that getting sicker wouldn’t help any, but the thought of not doing anything heaped guilt on his shoulders. 

“He just killed last night; you should have at least a few days before he takes the next one. Your health is important to me Will; I would like to make sure you are better before you go out again. Jack has done this before without you, he can do it again.”

If he was fully honest he would admit that he was feeling horribly weak and that he probably wouldn’t be much help with the mind fog the fever had given him.

“I’ll stay home for two days at the most.”

“Then allow me to help.”

He didn’t need someone to take care of him, Will had been alone so long that this was nothing new to him, but he did appreciate Hannibal’s concern. Will wished he had always had a friend like this, who was willing to stay with him and make sure he was alright. He wouldn’t admit it to Hannibal, but he truly was touched.

“I guess I wouldn’t mind the company, and the dogs could use a walk that is longer than a few feet.”

Will gave Hannibal a tentative look through his messy bangs and was rewarded with a warm smile. 

“Good, we’ll let Jack worry about the ripper today, and I will worry about you.”

**Author's Note:**

> From the anon prompt on my tumblr
> 
> "It would be really REALLY cute if you could do a fic where Will gets an awful headcold from being out in the snow on a case with Jack and Hannibal has to take him home from work because he's so sick but ignoring it because Jack won't let him call in. Fics like this are my guilty pleasure. The sicker the better."
> 
> I changed it a little as I am unable to follow a prompt to the T, but I hope this is along the lines of what you wanted. I was feeling down when I wrote it so it may not be as fluffy as you needed.


End file.
